Seney National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region 2013 Seney National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Page | 1 Table of Contents SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................4 I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ...............................................................................................4 A. Refuge Purpose ................................................................................................................... 5 B. Visitor Services Program Purpose and Scope of Plan .......................................................... 6 C. History of the Refuge Visitor Services Program .................................................................. 7 D. Visitor Services Issues, Concerns, and Factors To Consider ................................................ 9 E. Themes, Messages, and Topics .......................................................................................... 15 F. Audience ............................................................................................................................. 17 G. Visitor Facilities ................................................................................................................. 17 H. Visitor Services Map(s) ...................................................................................................... 27 J. Visitor Capacity ................................................................................................................... 38 II. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES ........................................................................................... 40 Table 4: CCP Goals and Objectives Summary ........................................................................ 40 The Ten Visitor Services Program Standards .......................................................................... 41 Standard 1: Develop a Visitor Services Plan .......................................................................... 43 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 43 Goals, Objectives, & Strategies: ................................................................................... 43 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 43 Standard 2: Welcome and Orient Visitors ............................................................................. 44 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 44 Goals, Objectives, & Strategies: ................................................................................... 50 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 53 Standard 3: Hunting ............................................................................................................... 55 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 55 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 57 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 59 Standard 4: Fishing ................................................................................................................ 60 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 60 Standard 4 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................ 62 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 63 Standard 5: Wildlife Observation and Wildlife Photography ................................................ 64 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 64 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 67 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 68 Standard 6: Environmental Education ................................................................................... 69 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 69 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 72 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 74 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Page | 2 Standard 7: Interpretation ..................................................................................................... 75 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 75 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 78 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 80 Standard 8: Manage for Other Recreational Use Opportunities ........................................... 81 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 81 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 82 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 82 Standard 9: Outreach ............................................................................................................ 84 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 84 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 86 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 88 Standard 10: Volunteers and Friends ..................................................................................... 89 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 89 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................... 94 Monitor and Evaluate: ................................................................................................. 95 Standard 11: Recreation Fee Program .................................................................................. 96 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 96 Standard 12: Concessions ...................................................................................................... 97 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 97 Standard 13: Commercial Recreational Uses ........................................................................ 98 Current Program Discussion: ....................................................................................... 98 Standard 14: Wilderness ....................................................................................................... 99 Current program discussion: ........................................................................................ 99 Goal(s), Objective(s), Strategies ................................................................................. 101 Monitor and Evaluate: ............................................................................................... 101 III. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE........................................................................................... 102 Table 8: Strategies Implementation Schedule...................................................................... 102 IV. PROJECT COST.................................................................................................................. 131 Table 9. Project Cost ............................................................................................................ 131 V. VISITOR SERVICES ANNUAL WORK PLAN ............................................................................ 134 Table 10. Visitor Services Annual Work Plan ....................................................................... 134 VI. VISITOR SERVICES ANNUAL PARTNERSHIP PLANNING ....................................................... 137 Table 11. Visitor Services Annual Partnership Planning ...................................................... 137 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 139 APPENDIX A: List of Preparers ............................................................................................. 139 APPENDIX B: List of other visitor services related documents ............................................ 139 APPENDIX C: Compatibility Determination ......................................................................... 140 APPENDIX